Oral Histories

Arthur Parkes came to Richmond in 1934 and took up dairy farming at Clarendon and later at Cornwallis. He has a great deal of in-depth knowledge of the area and how the Hawkesbury has responded to flooding and changes in the catchment.

Athol Kemp has lived on a farm at Upper Crescent Reach, from birth in 1925. He was a descendant of convict Peter Kemp. Athol who was an orchardist has witnessed a great deal of change in the river and was able to relate stories from his father as well.

Bruce Ferguson was 76 years old when interviewed he came from a family that had owned land by the Nepean for generations. His property to the immediate south-west of Camden was the site of Ferguson’s Australia Nursery. Later in life he was Mayor of Camden and was in an official capacity with issues related to the water usage and the health of the river.

Chester Smith can trace his ancestry to the First Fleet. The family established the Dargle Ski Gardens, but prior to that had farmed grain and were also involved in orcharding on the river. Chester had been on Dargle from the age of 14 in 1925 and had family up and down the river. He is able to talk about both the impacts of farming and tourism on the river.

Chris Niccol had lived at Huntingdon Hall on the western bank of the Nepean since the 1930s. His personal memories date until the 1950s. he also has a particular knowledge of Knapsack Creek, which he remembers as being completely grassed with long grass and the water crystal clear. Chris recalled that about 1960.

Dick Nixon was 73 years old when interviewed and had lived near the Nepean his entire life. He wandered the banks as a school boy and later worked in the] Dairy Farmers Milk Company, who's factory was the first building in the area that floodwaters enter, and the last building that they leave. He has an excellent memory of the river and the riverine environment and the changes he observed over his lifetime.

Frank was 77 years old when he was interviewed and had lived on the river at Laughtondale on One Tree Reach all his life. The family was involved in citrus orcharding and he was also a prawn fisherman. He speaks from first hand experience of water quality in changes in the river and changes in type and number water fauna that he observed while out prawning.

Harold Hall was born in 1917 and his family lived in the old church house at Ebenezer. He has witnessed many changes in the river, including changes in the channel s well as in the water flora and fauna.

John Crace had lived in the Cobbity area for 43 years when he was interviewed. He purchased land at the junction of Cobbity Creek and the Nepean in 1959. Overlooking the river, he was able to observe changes over 4 decades.

John had lived on One Tree Reach for his entire 55 years at the time of interview. He was the fifth generation of his family from the area and could draw on multi-generational knowledge. He was had worked as a prawn fisherman for 35 years and new the river from Broken Bay to Lower Portland.

Ted Foster holidayed at the resort called Una Voce at Lower Portland Head as a child and later in his teens, in 1948, he took up rowing on the Nepean at Penrith. He has continued to boat on the river across his adult life. He has a waterman’s eye for water quality and changes in the river.

Jim Drinnan operated a dredging plant on the Nepean with a focus on the area between Cobbity Bridge and Ellis Lane near Camden. He had lived in the are since 1958 and started as a dairy farmer, but difficulties with water supply saw him turn to dredging, to clear sand from the Nepean, which was impeding flows.

This oral history project was commissioned in 1991 by the Water Board and consists of 16 interviews with long term residents of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment about their knowledge of the river and the changes they have witnessed.

Live Wires! - Izaack Visser

Izaack Visser started his training as an electrician in 1947 in Holland and worked in the ship building industry in Rotterdam and then undertook a degree in design engineering. He emigrated to Australia in 1958 and moved to Gulgong. He...

Live Wires! - Ken Mole

Ken commenced work as a draughtsman at Ulan Shire Council in 1956. He was involved in the extension of the line fromMebul and to Cooba Bulga.It was a lively interview fill with good humour and fond memories. Ken was interviewed...

Live Wires! - Kevin Sweeney

Kevin Sweeney started in the electricity distribution straight from school, initially working in the Newcastle area at Shortland County Council as an electrical fitter mechanic apprentice, and going into the job, thinking of it as a career for life. He...

Live Wires! - Phil Orton

Phil commenced work as an apprentice electrical fitter contractor in 1965 with Ophir County Council, he quickly went to the drawing office as a technical officer designing overhead lines. He later became involved in supervising construction.

Live Wires! - Len Gosper

Linesman and leading hand Len Gosper started work in the electricity industry in 1955, some 18 months after leaving school. He remembers camping out with work crews as they built lines to small hamlets like Yarrabandi and Bumberry Hills:

Live Wires! - Speck Gilbert

Field supervisor, Speck Gilbert was interviewed at Cobar, his father helped Speck get a start in the industry, a year after he left school. He's worked as a linesman and leading hand based at Cobar, Warren and Nyngan. A...

Live Wires! - Complete Project

This video-oral history project was commissioned in 2000 by Advance Energy and consists of interviews with 10 men who were either employees or former employees of Advance Energy, or its predecessors. The interviewees range from linesmen, to engineers and the...

Live Wires! - Ian Pellow

Ian started work as an apprentice electrical fitter mechanic at Southern Mitchell straight from school. He talks about his experiences in the field, being on call, on one occasion being electrocuted when up a pole and the excitement of working...

Live Wires! - Doug Witherdin

Doug Witherdin joined Ophir Electricity in 1967 and studied full time to attain an electrical engineering certificate. He then worked in the design office and undertook surveys for overhead power lines, and designing cable installations as an engineering officer. He...

Live Wires! - Bob Bassett

Linesman, Bob Bassett was interviewed at his home in Grenfell. He had come to Australia from the UK when he was 16 in 1954 as part of the Big Brother Movement. The father in the family he was allocated to...